Malta Sees Suspicious Gambling Transactions Rise

Malta is reporting that suspicious gambling-related transactions rose 106.4% from 2018, and there were more than 741 reports received in the first part of this year.

The jump showed 1,445 reports of suspicious gambling transactions in 2019, up from 700 reports received in 2018. The numbers have been rising for each year since 2014, a time where there were only 22 suspicious transactions flagged.

Three gambling operators accounted for 32% of filings, with five other companies making up 35% of filings.72 other entities filed the remaining third of the reports.

Unexplained financial transaction activity was the main source of the flags, with 21% being related to suspicious behaviors.

Gaming operators in Malta have a responsibility to report suspicious activity to authorities, with entities that fail to do so sanctioned and even losing their gaming license.